Scarlet
by Maximillian Havisham
Summary: She is a wildfire. Fierce, unrelenting, uncontrollable. With no way to tame her, he can only watch in awe as he is engulfed by her beauty. One-Shot.


The town of Magnolia came alive in the night time.

Nestled within the boundaries of the sleepy sea town were various pubs and dives frequented by some of the roughest individuals the country of Fiore had to offer. Hardened criminals and common people alike came together to indulge in the town's night life entertainment, knowing full well that tomorrow would be business as usual for all of them.

Natsu Dragneel was no exception to this list. An adventurer by trade, he spent his days hunting down criminals and monsters of all forms to fill his pockets with enough money to eat the next day. Harsh hours, hellish travel, and brutal battles had taken thier toll on his body, but it was the life he chose so he wasn't going to complain about it now.

He hadn't visited Magnolia in nearly a month, but whenever he returned to the city the people treated him like he never left.

"Hey, it's Natsu!"

"Yo."

"Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah. I know. I've been working."

"Still hunting, huh? You should really settle down while you're still young. Find you a nice girl."

He chuckled. "I'll think about it."

Idle chit chat was never Natsu's forte, but he managed to make the most of it by smiling and nodding every so often. "Fake it until you make it" was his mantra when it came to such things.

He stopped in front of a building in the middle of the entertainment district. The sign shining at the top reading "Fairy Tail". With a grin he pushed open the doors.

Fairy Tail was the crown jewel of Magnolia. Though small in size compared to it's contemperaries, the modest club housed the best late night entertainment in all of the country thanks to the "Elementals"; Four beautiful belly-dancers that captivated the hearts and minds of men and women alike.

Taking off his hood, the adventurer made his way to the bar. He was greeted with a smile by a young woman with long white hair.

"Well this is a surprise. I was starting to get worried that you'd never come back."

"Hey, Mira."

Mirajane Strauss was the owner of Fairy Tail as well as its lead bar maid. She was once the leader of the Elementals - going by the name Atmos - until she got pregnant.

These days she balances both running the club and her responsibilities as a mother.

"How have you been?" she asked, sliding him a mug of ale.

"Better. Thanks." He took a sip. "I just came back from Sin."

"Oh? That must have been exciting."

"If you like burning to death. How's the kid?"

"A terror, but you know how children are at that age. He'll grow out of it soon enough though."

"You hope so." Natsu took another drink and his eyes trailed to the main stage. On it was a girl with long blonde hair.

She swiftly pranced about the stage, he feet barely touching the ground as her pink silk ribbons elegantly waved through the air.

"She's gotten better." Natsu noted.

"I know. Hard to believe she only started a few months ago."

Once the girl known as Air finished her dance she bowed to the crowd and went through the curtain.

"Has **she** gone?"

Mirajane grinned. "Not yet. She's on last tonight. Looks like you came just in time."

After a few minutes the music started to change. The upbeat, fanciful sounds that were previously floating through the air slowed, being replaced with a much fiercer, but also more seductive tempo. The lights in Fairy Tail started to dim and the crowd shouted in excitement. It was time for the main event.

The adventurer watched closely, his body still as a figure approached the spotlight at the front of the stage.

Her long hair was the color of fire, contrasting beautifully with her purple bikini and gold adornments. Without hesitation she started to dance, Natsu's eyes following her the entire time.

Her movements were wild, but at the same time controlled. It was as if someone had contained a wildfire inside of a bubble. Her bare feet gliding along the wood of the stage to the sounds of the music, she had entranced the entirety of Fairy Tail. No one dared take their eyes off of her.

She was Fire. The new leader of the Elementals after Mirajane's retirement. She was also the most popular of her fellow Elementals, and for good reason. Patrons were captivated by her stunning beauty, as well as her elegant yet fierce movements. It was like watching her reenact a hellish battle with nothing but her body language.

The lone ribbon attached to her arm danced at her side as she nimbly moved about the stage. No movement was clumsy, no step wavered, and no stop was made. She continued to move as if the world would cease to exist if she dared stop for even a moment.

The crowd watched in awe as Fire grabbed a pair of sais from her behind back. The music started to kick up. She matched its tempo, her weapons joining in her battle against the invisible foe. When the music reached its crescendo, Fire tossed the sais into the air and effortlessly catching them when they came down; twirling them in her hands and slicing the air before dropping to one knee. The music stopped. The battle was over.

There was a brief silence before the crowd erupted into a roar of cheers and claps.

"That was new." Mirajane commented. "I've never seen her use weapons during a performance before. What did you think, Natsu?"

The bar maid turned to her friend, smiling when she noticed that he wasn't listening to her at all. He was still focused on Fire.

The dancer's soft brown eyes found Natsu's amidst the crowd, and a small smile pulled at her lip as she turned and walked through the curtain.

"I think she saw you." Mirajane teased the blushing pinkette.

* * *

Natsu sat on the edge of his motel bed, his eyes gazing outside the window at the moon shining in the night sky as he fidgeted with a small black box in his hand. As he thought of what to do next he felt a pair of slender arms slide over his shoulders, as well as something soft press against his upper back.

"What are you thinking about?"

Fire's - whose real name was Erza Scarlet - sweet breath tickled his ear.

"Nothing." He quickly hid the box in the blanket. "Did I wake you up?"

"Don't worry about it. I haven't sleeping well these past few days anyway."

"Why?"

"I've been too worried about you."

"Oh. Sorry about that."

"It can't be helped. I knew this would happen when we got together. Though I can't say it doesn't bother me from time to time." She looked out at the moon with him. "How was your last job?"

"Nothing special. Just took down a group of thieves."

"Sounds dangerous."

"I've seen worse."

"I know." Erza trailed her finger over the scar on the right side of his neck. When she looked down his arms she saw more scars. "Must you keep doing this line of work?"

"If I want to eat I gotta work." Natsu answered.

"There are much safer jobs…one's that would keep you in town for longer than a day."

Natsu could hear the loneliness in her voice. "Sorry." he apologized again.

"You don't have to apologize. I'm just being selfish. It's an odd feeling being lonely."

"I bet." He joked. "There's probably plenty of guys willing to help with that. It's not like anyone knows we're together."

"And whose decision was that?"

Erza's commanding tone frightened the adventurer.

"I-I was just joking! You know why we can't tell people-"

"Yes. Yes. You've explained it before. About your enemies and all of that nonsense."

"Exactly. If someone found out about you then-"

"Natsu." Erza interrupted. "We both know I can take care of myself."

"Yeah. I know but I just...I don't know. Just be a little more patient ok?"

Erza sighed. "Fine. I'll keep playing it your way, but I'm starting to get restless."

"That mean you gonna find someone else?"

"Of course not." She tightened her hold on her lover, her bare chest further pressing against him. "I told you before I'll never leave you. I'm just tired of hiding. It feels like we're doing something wrong."

"Yeah I know, but I promise we'll tell people soon."

"When do you leave again?"

"I don't have any jobs lined up for a bit. So it looks like I stay a little longer this time."

"I see." She smiled. "That's good."

"Let's get breakfast in the morning before you go to work. Sound good?"

"Of course." She smiled. "I'd love to."

Natsu smiled wide. "Great."

"I'm going back to sleep." She kissed him on the lips. "Don't stay up too long."

"I won't."

"Good night, Natsu."

"Night."

After making sure Erza had fallen asleep, Natsu carefully recovered the black box from under the blanket. He opened it, smiling as he allowed the diamond ring inside to shine brilliantly in the moonlight.

He turned to Erza and kissed the top of her head.

"One day."

 **Just a quick and dirty one shot that I wrote in about an hour or so. I based this one entirely off of the picture in the thumbnail (Drawn by Blanania as part of her "Elemental Dancers" set. She's a fantastic artist and you should check out her stuff). It's been a while since I've done something that was strictly Natza so I thought it was time to start sailing the boat of my OTP again. Hopefully you all liked it.**

 **As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you think. Thanks for reading! :)**


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